Tag : beetles

Beneficial Insects

Creating an environment hostile to pests includes enlisting the help of beneficial insects. These insects keep undesirable pest populations in check through their feeding, as either predators or parasites. Both the adult and immature stages of predators actively search out and consume prey. Parasites help by depositing eggs in or on the host. When they hatch, the host becomes their food source. What can you do to encourage helpful insects? …

Watch What You Step On

It pays to know what insects look like throughout their life cycle, because they change form as they grow in a process called metamorphosis. Born with rigid or semi-rigid outer skins, insects would have a difficult time growing if they were not able to shed this covering as they outgrew it. Some insects—such as beetles, lacewings, and moths—start life as larvae and evolve to an intermediate stage called pupae. After…